Paradise Lost
by Lee Isidor
Summary: Their mission was to search and rescue Alma Karma from the Noah's Garden of Eden. He didn't understand, probably wouldn't, but that mysterious redhead obviously knew a lot more than he let on. LaviYuu
1. one of those days

**Lee Isidor: **WHOA. I KNOW, IT'S ME.

**0. **I've had this idea for a while now. I only just got it on paper.

**1. **Tell me what you think. If you see mistakes, it's because I sat down and typed up this whole thing last night. Yeah. I just went with it. So! Hooray?

**2. **No pairings in mind yet. We'll see how things work out. Your suggestions might influence me...?

**3. **Something about Alma? We'll see on that too.

_**Disclaimer**_**: I do not own DGM. Or Bratislava. That's in Slovakia, in case you don't read the location. xDD Eff, I don't own John Milton either. I do own a copy of Paradise Lost, though, and I did enjoy it. Mmhm. Mmhm. Yeah. Jeez. Forgot to mention that I don't own Gabriel Garcia Marquez either. I'm too lazy to put accents, so deal with it. Fuck, I don't own anything, okay?  
**

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**chapter one: one of those days**

_LOCATION: BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA  
TIME: 1328 HOURS; JUNE 18 2010_

It was un día de estos – just one of those days.

Kanda scowled, shoving his hands into his pockets. The streets were crowded as he walked, but he had been in and around the city long enough to know good techniques to get through the people. And today had been lucky. No one was following him today. A quick glance behind him was enough to confirm that. He turned his head back, quickening his pace. There were still things that needed to be done. The day was far from over.

He crossed the street, darting around a crowd of tourists as they admired a statue. The man coming out of the sewer thing or something. He scoffed at it. Then again, he scoffed at most things. Art just wasn't up there on his list of interests. The packet of information was under his arm, and he had to deliver it before the clock in the square struck two or something melodramatic like that. A cobblestone jutted out from the sidewalk; he almost tripped.

"Careful," someone said in crisp German, grabbing his arm. He was saved from plummeting to the ground, but Kanda couldn't help but glare at the person. The young man waved his hands in front of himself nervously. "Sorry, sorry. Just trying to help."

"Tch, I don't need help," Kanda replied snappishly. He brushed imaginary dust off of his jacket, fixing the redhead with a very solid glare.

"You're welcome," the other man said, sounding amused as he walked away.

The long-haired man didn't bother to turn around. "I didn't thank you," he replied, but he would probably never know if the other had heard or not. When he next glanced behind him, the redhead had been swallowed by the crowd. It didn't matter, really. He would probably never see that man again.

Kanda took purposeful steps towards his destination. He passed Michael's Gate. He passed several important-looking buildings. He didn't even know the names of all of them, and that mattered even less to him than the redhead he had bumped in to. He wasn't expecting to stay in Bratislava for that long, though, so it didn't really matter. There were other cities that were just as interesting. Not that he cared if the city was _interesting_, but it did help a little. Especially when the mission was boring.

He darted past a tour group – he knew they were tourists because of the woman holding a flag and yelling some words in English. He could understand them well enough, but several of the tourists pointed at him as he skirted the group and finally, _finally _pushed his way into the building that was supposed to be the meeting place. It looked just like any other building, but he knew that this one – _this one _out of all the fucking buildings in the small town – was the one he had been searching for.

The receptionist's desk was empty. Kanda looked impatiently over the grey counter at the grey walls and the equally grey computer. It was a very monotone room. There was a headset lying on the keyboard, but there was no dead body behind the counter, like he had been half expecting. Huh. Curious.

The only exit to the room – the elevator was the only door? That couldn't be right – gave a solid ding and opened. The seamless grey metal split down the middle and Komui Lee smiled at him with the tired look of someone who hadn't slept in weeks.

"Agent, you're a little early," he said, glancing casually at his watch. Kanda's fingers were itching to wrap around his sword, his Mugen, and point it at the older man. They hadn't even _given _him a time to show up.

"You said it was urgent," he pointed out with sufficient venom to make the older man draw back with a cringe. "That usually means something is _wrong _so I show up."

The beret-wearing man laughed. His voice was strangely high-pitched – nervous. For all of his quirks, he knew the scientist was observant enough. The twitching in his right hand must have given everything away. He _did _wield a sword with his right hand, after all.

Mugen was resting comfortably at his hip. He had hidden the sword, of course, because in modern society you couldn't just walk around with a weapon hanging out. That sounded dirty. If he could have thought of the past tense of 'strike,' he would have done that striking with those thoughts. The long-haired man shook his head, trying to get some semblance of order in his mind. He felt jumpy and slightly – slightly something he couldn't put his finger on.

"What did you want?" he grunted, holding out the information packet like a peace offering. It was the whole reason he had come to the boring, monotone building in the first place.

Komui took the folder carefully. He spent a few minutes flipping through the report. He didn't know why – he didn't really care either. Not like the older man would know if anything was missing anyway. The mission had been a success, so nothing really fucking mattered. "Good," he said finally. "Do you want to come up to my office?"

"No," Kanda said stiffly. "Your office is a fucking _mess_."

The scientist let out a startled laugh. His dark eyes were exactly the same shade as Lenalee's, he noted. As a general rule, he wasn't the best at observing, but some things tended to stick out more than others. "Okay," he relented. "We can meet in the break room down here. You want anything?"

"Tch." A question like that didn't deserve an answer. Komui skirted around the receptionist desk, frowned at the screen, and then tapped it with a fingernail. He didn't speak, though, and that was annoying. "What?" Kanda asked aggressively.

"We're supposed to have another visitor," the Chinese man said skeptically. "On the thirty. You want to make yourself a cup of tea or something and I'll meet you back there in a few minutes?"

Kanda's eyes narrowed. "No. I want to get my briefing and get the hell out of this city," he said lowly. It sounded an awful lot like a demand. But he was a little embarrassed that the supervisor knew that he would have made tea. Not that he was going to let it show or anything, but what the fuck? Annoying.

Komui gave him the kind of look a boss was supposed to give an employee. It felt out of place. The older man had never given him a look like that before, and he didn't know how to respond. "It's only ten extra minutes, Kanda," he said with a note of finality.

The Chinese man reached down to the keyboard, casting the headset aside like it was a piece of crumpled notebook paper. He typed a few things, and suddenly, the wall to his left split open just like the elevator had. A blast of cool air hit him in the face. It was a welcome relief from the heat outside.

"You stay in here. If this visitor has to do with your mission, I'll let you know," the dark-haired man said seriously. "If something goes wrong, you know the signal."

That didn't deserve a reply either. Kanda strode into the room purposefully. He tried not to let it show on his face that – as the door slid closed behind him and he was utterly trapped in the kitchenette – he was kind of really uncomfortable. He made himself busy, fixing a cup of tea for the road, and by the time he was pouring it into a travel mug, the door had opened again. He decided that stealing it was okay – they wouldn't miss it, really.

"Kanda!" Komui greeted him cheerfully for all his tiredness. "I'm sorry that took so long. You'll have to come up to my office after all."

"Why?" he asked forcefully, hating the way the older man seemed to know something he didn't. "Tell me what the fuck is going on."

The supervisor looked around them dramatically, putting a finger to his lips. "Hush! Come to my office and I'll explain everything."

Kanda frowned but decided that arguing was pointless. Every time Lenalee tried to talk her brother into letting her go on a more difficult mission, he had a certain way of talking around her arguments until she gave up. It wasn't worth it. He wrapped his hands around the cup of tea and left the kitchen. It was much brighter in the opening office than it had been in the smaller room, and he was forced to blink rapidly to adjust to the new lighting.

"Hey, it's you!"

Fuck, he recognized that strangely crisp German accent. Kanda opened his eyes. The light wasn't so blinding anymore. He frowned at the other man, the same redhead who had stopped him from tripping earlier. "Yes, it's me," he said venomously.

The redhead took a step back, his eye – something he hadn't noticed before was the fact that the man was wearing an eye patch – blinking dramatically. It kind of really stuck out on his face. His red hair was held back by some headband thing too, and it made the black patch just that much more _obvious_.

"Jeez, no need to be so angry!" he grinned, and Kanda had the feeling that if they were an anime – where the fuck had that come from? – then the other would have a large, blue drop sliding down the back of his head.

"Ignore him," Komui said dramatically, shielding his face with the informative folder. "Kanda has a bad attitude about everything." He lowered it, trying – and failing – to hide a knowing grin.

The redhead – whose name he didn't know, and that tiny detail bothered him more than anything the other had said – locked his hands behind his head and let his lips quirk into a silly grin. "So, we ready to do this thing?"

Again with the – sounding dirty. Kanda scowled. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Komui tittered behind the folders, his eyes curving into closed half-moons. "Follow me, boys," he directed with that same amusement. "We're heading up to my office and then I'll send you on your merry way."

The elevator ride was silent. It wasn't an awkward silence; it was more like the dead silence that came after someone had died and nobody really wanted to talk about whose fault it was. The redhead had clasped his hands behind his back and was looking contemplatively at his reflection in the stainless steel of the walls. Kanda had a distinct feeling that he was going to be worse than the Walker brat.

They arrived at the supervisor's office. The only piece of furniture that wasn't buried in paperwork was the couch, and he and the atrociously redheaded man seated themselves as far away from each other as possible. Maybe that was all in his head, Kanda mused. He was just doing his best to ignore that other man.

"Now," Komui said seriously as soon as they were both situated. "I think introductions are in order. Kanda, I want you to meet your partner for this mission – Lavi Bookman."

"You can just call me Lavi," the redhead grinned, cocking his head. "Is Kanda your first name or last?"

"Does it matter?" he bit out angrily.

Lavi snapped his mouth shut. He didn't look hurt – more just plain pleased by the whole situation. "So it's your last name then. Are you gonna tell me your first name? I want us to be friends, Kanda-no-first-name!"

Kanda narrowed his eyes. It took almost all of his willpower and concentration to not whip Mugen out and decapitate the other right then and there. "You don't deserve to know my first name," he said finally.

The other turned a large, pleading green eye on him. "But… But what am I supposed to _call _you?"

"Try 'Kanda' like everyone else does, you fucking retard," he retorted, feeling a little silly. The only person he ever really argued with was the Walker brat. This Lavi guy was going to _annoy _him, he could already tell.

Lavi crossed his arms over his chest and threw himself back against the couch with a pout. "Well, I don't think it's fair that you know my name and I don't know yours."

"Fuck you," Kanda snapped, crossing his arms too and looking the other way. "Hurry up with the damn briefing; I want to get out of here."

The redhead sniffed theatrically. "Don't ignore me, you – you..." He couldn't seem to think of a good word. "Ugh, this is terrible. I'm forgetting things already."

Komui cleared his throat good-naturedly. "Boys, simmer down. The faster I brief you, the more time you can spend together. This is going to be a long term mission."

"He's not going to make it," Kanda said bluntly. "He's going to taste the end of my Mugen before the end of today."

Lavi wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I didn't think you wanted to move that fast, Kanda. I mean, after all, I just met you _today_…"

The long-haired man choked on a breath. "_What_?"

The redhead smiled innocently. "Well, if you went ahead and named your love stick, who am I to complain? It's got a nice ring to it, though. Mugen. Kinda rolls off the tongue."

"Mugen is my _sword_, you dumbass!" Kanda growled, jumping to his feet. His hand was straying towards his hip and the other's eyes were widening comically.

"No! I was joking! Keep that sword in your pants!" Lavi cried, covering his one good eye with his hand. A second later he spread his fingers to peek through. "You're not really gonna pull it out, are you?"

It was at the point that he couldn't tell what was a euphemism and what wasn't. His Mugen – along with the other, ahem, body part that Lavi had mentioned – was tucked away securely in the leg of his pants. His hands were shaking for that moment of indecision, but Kanda growled with all the threat he could muster and drew the sword with a seamless grace that even the elevator would have been fuckin' jealous of. The redhead let out a – terrified? – yelp and pressed himself against the back of the couch. He had almost completely forgotten his supervisor was there when the man coughed again, a polite, 'what the fuck are you doing' kind of cough. It probably helped that he had the edge of his sword just inches away from slicing into Lavi's jugular. The fountain would have been a bitch to get out of all that paperwork.

Lavi let out some sort of – again, terrified? – squeal. "You can put it away! I won't make fun of your sword anymore!"

Kanda couldn't tell if he was being serious or not, but he sheathed the sword anyway. His lips curved into an almost-smirk at the redhead's strange noise. "You sound like a rabbit," he observed. Well, maybe not quite a rabbit, but it had been the first animal he had thought of. "Moron."

The redhead's face colored, but Komui cleared his throat more insistently. "_Boys_, can we shut up for a few minutes so I can give you the rundown?" he asked dryly. "I don't have all day."

He didn't have the grace to look sheepish – the redhead looked it enough for the both of them. "Sorry," Lavi apologized, but the corners of his lips were twitching.

Komui pulled a map down from behind his desk and frowned at it. He was silent for a long moment before he pulled out a red marker and drew a large x. "This," he explained, "is your first target city."

"But what's the _mission_?" Kanda asked sourly, frowning as well. "Tell me the fucking mission."

The supervisor's eyes closed for a moment before he offered them a baffling smile. "Boys, your mission is – is more search and rescue this time."

"Search and rescue?" Lavi repeated curiously. "So you're saying we're supposed to get something from the Noah?"

The long-haired man's eyes narrowed. "What aren't you telling us?" he asked dangerously. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him something bad was going down. Komui wouldn't even _look _at him.

The scientist tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. A sigh pulled from his lips. "Your mission is to find and rescue Alma Karma."

For a moment, the silence was deafening.

"Okay," Lavi said agreeably. A devious smile was curling his lips. "Who's Alma Karma?"

Two more seconds and he was going to _scream_.

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one two three

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"Don't touch me."

"But I know your first name now, Yuu, so doesn't that mean I can touch you all I want?"

"What the _fuck_, you disgusting _pervert _- don't call me by my first name or I'll sever your arteries."

There was a decidedly teasing element in the redhead's voice. "Which one? I do have a lot of them, actually."

Kanda turned to look at him with a flat stare. "All of them. Every single one."

Lavi mock-gasped. "All at the same time?"

"Of course not, you stupid rabbit," he retorted tiredly. The compartment was too small. He was suffocating sitting in such close proximity to the redhead and his annoying voice and his annoying personality and his fucking annoying everything.

"Hey, Yuu-chan," the other quipped. He paused for a long moment, a smile worming its way back onto his lips. "Are we… _there yet_?" he asked before collapsing into hysterical giggles.

Kanda didn't get it. He turned blank eyes on the other man. "Tch."

They were on a train. Even though it was the year 20-fuckin'-10, they were stuck riding a _train_. Because Komui had insisted that they might be followed by the Noah if they made it too obvious that they were looking for Alma. He wasn't going to let himself think about the Alma he had known – the annoying, snot-nosed brat that always seemed to make him feel better. Goddammit.

The Black Order had paid for their train compartment. It was first class, as usual, and the padding on the chairs was plush velvet. It was a modern train – they were definitely going pretty fast, but it would take a hell of a lot longer than flying. A plane would be two hours, bam, _done_, but on a train… He would just have to spend that much longer in fucking captivity with the annoying redhead who couldn't sit still and turned everything he said into something sexual and innuendo-ish.

"I don't like you," Kanda said matter-of-factly. "I will let you die the first chance I get."

Lavi merely smiled, smiled, smiled, and bounced on his seat. "I know!" he toyed with his headband, falling sideways on the seat. "That's fine with me, Yuu-chan!"

"Don't _call _me that!" he insisted, narrowing his dark eyes. "Or I will kill you myself."

"Naah, you wouldn't," the redhead argued. "You'd get in too much trouble. 'Sides, you haven't even known me for a full day. Don't you usually wait a little longer to kill people?"

Kanda paused. He knew it gave the illusion that he was thinking it over, but really it was just for dramatic effect. "No," he said finally, bluntly. "I kill people when I feel like it."

The other's grin faltered slightly, but he hoisted it back on after a few seconds of silence. "So! Tell me more about yourself, Yuu. Your profile wasn't really enlightening."

The Japanese man turned furious eyes on his companion. "You _read _my profile?"

Lavi blinked innocently, but the expression was marred by his devious grin. "Of course! Komui let me – it's my job, you know. I'm not here to actually _do _much."

The growl started low in his throat, but the other man didn't look phased at all. "This isn't a game, idiot," he said finally. "What do you want?"

"Tell me more about yourself, and I'll tell you more about _me_," the redhead grinned, wriggling his fingers. The long-haired man couldn't decide if the motion was supposed to be suggestive or not. "Sounds good?"

"No," he replied honestly. "It sounds terrible."

"But – but Yuu-chan!" Lavi wailed, throwing himself across the seat and nearly smothering him in a strange, crushing hug. "What if you die and all I ever knew about you was that your name was Kanda and that you're from Japan and you like soba? Wouldn't that just be _tragic_?"

Kanda narrowed his eyes, trying to shove the other away. It didn't work – it was like he was made of fucking glue or something. "_No_! Get the fuck off of me before I decapitate you!"

"Really?" the other asked, voice suddenly much too close to his ear and a little too sensual for the occasion. "Not if you can't reach your sword, Yuu-_chan_…"

The long-haired man froze as fingers brushed the top of his thigh, climbing to where the hilt of his sword was nearly buried in a pocket. He couldn't see Lavi's expression – his face was buried in the other's shoulder. Strength seemed to fail him. He couldn't move, and the liquid-like touch wrapped around the hilt of his Mugen before casually, oh-so-casually, drawing it out just far enough. He could feel the cold press of metal against his side.

"Jeez, didn't expect you to freeze up like that," the junior Bookman – whatever the fuck that meant – observed with a slightly contemplative expression. He slid back on his haunches before reaching up to ruffle the older man's bangs.

"What the _fuck_!" Kanda exploded, shoving the other off. The shock of being – being touched had worn off, and he had regained all of his mobility. The redhead was surprisingly good at dodging. Lavi retreated to his half of the compartment nursing a large bump on his head and a cut on his forearm but it didn't dampen his pleased expression. "Don't touch me or I will throw you out the fucking window."

They sat in silence for a long time.

"So you're not going to tell me anything about yourself?" Lavi asked after a while, examining his fingernails like they were the most interesting thing in the world. They probably were, to him. He had the fucking attention span of the animal he took after. A thought about rabbits' breeding habits made his cheeks color slightly.

Kanda surveyed the other with an icy glare. "No. I never had any intention to."

Lavi cleared his throat dramatically. "Well then, I hope you won't mind me reading this interview I got from your General. He was quite vocal, actually…"

"_What_?" the long-haired man looked up from his mission report. For all intents and purposes, he was going to sit there and finish the fucking thing. They had the time, at least. "What about that moron?"

The redhead cleared his throat again and began to read, apparently quoting. "Yuu-kun was my third adopted son… I love him so much! My heart would shatter if anything bad were to happen to him!"

He cocked a brow, scowling. "That sounds ridiculous."

The other man shrugged. "It's what he said. I got like, three whole pages of him talking about how much he loves all of his adopted sons – or, uh, you know. Whatever title they give to you guys."

"That man is _not _my father," Kanda grumbled. He was thumbing through the information packet because the situation was uncomfortable. It gave him something to do with his hands.

Lavi's expression morphed into something much more attentive. "So who _was _your father?"

Kanda snorted, tossing his head. "Obviously some guy named Kanda, since it happens to be my _family name_, stupid rabbit."

The redhead sat back, looking disappointed. "You really won't tell me anything about yourself? We're gonna be stuck together for a long time, so you might as well."

"Fuck you. You know my name, isn't that good enough?" he asked impatiently. "Shut your damn trap before I rip your tongue out."

Mugen was pressing painfully into his hip. When the – the redhead had fucking _touched _the poor sword, he had shifted it. Of course it didn't hurt normally, but that idiot had no idea how to handle a sword. Kanda shifted uncomfortably before finally giving up and drawing Mugen out with a metallic clink.

"So," Lavi said finally, conversationally. "Who _is _Alma?"

"Tch. Just read your damn report," the older man muttered. He placed Mugen delicately in his lap and decided that yes – it really was.

Just one of those days.

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revieeew? c:


	2. y la brújula

**Lee Isidor: **Wow, it's me. I'm back for a second chapter. :D

**5. **First off, this is very, _very _loosely tied to Milton's Paradise Lost. I just really enjoyed the book and thought it'd make a good title. But don't worry, there will be plenty of paradise-description coming up.

**6. **Just some idea of where I am going with pairings – so far, if you can't tell already, there's some LaviYuu. I'm thinking it's going to be a Lavi-Kanda-Alma triangle or something. Yes. Alma. I know, right? Vague amounts of TyKan and Lucky are also in store. I think. xDD

**7. **Um. I don't think Alma is OOC, because we haven't seen much of him that actually _makes sense_, so just go with me? I think it's pretty okay.

**8. **Yeah. Or something.

**Review**** Response**

**TheyCallMeDeath: **Hooray! I'm glad you like my stories. :D It makes me happy to hear that someone appreciates me. And all those unoriginal stories out there – it wouldn't be fun to read it everyone's seen it a million times.. Alma needs to get some serious character development/personality revealing before people are gonna jump on the bandwagon and write about him. xDD Thank you for correcting the typo, but if I remember correctly, I sent you a PM about why I did what I did. I wasn't trying to say you were wrong or anything, but I wanted to keep the story title, which might make sense later. I have a tendency to incorporate what I'm reading into my writing, and someday, when I remember, I'll go back and fix that. Obviously it won't be today, because I'm definitely writing this at school, and I don't want people to see that I'm on FFN longer than I have to be! xDD But! Thank you for the awesome review and the wording advice! I guess that's the word to use. Advice? Critique? Whatever. I appreciate it! :DD

**ANONYMOUS MYSTERY REVIEWER: **WHO ARE YOU? DO I KNOW YOU? xDD WHY ARE YOU INTERNET-STALKING ME??

Ahem. Just kidding. Now that _that's _out of the way, I can proceed with my response. Yes. That was definitely an e-mail. A very long, drawn-out and descriptive e-mail, but obviously I don't write chapters, I write e-books that you have to e-mail subscribe to to read. So _there_. I'm glad you're in love with LaviYuu. I'm starting to like it quite a bit more myself. C: I'm sorry to disappoint, but I will _not _be updating every three hours. You can cry on me during seventh period if you need to. I'LL EVEN BRING YOU TISSUES. Thank you for the mysterious and anonymous review. I will forever wonder who you are. Or something.

**bright snow: **No, I don't think I'll sue you. That would require me actually getting off my booty, which is planted firmly in a computer chair. Now _that _sounds like too much work. Hooray! I was hoping that sword-hidden thing would work, though I'm not really sure _how_. I mean, when I see someone walking around with a sword out in plain view – I mean _if, _because I haven't actually seen that, my bad xDD – I would _freak_. And Kanda's supposed to be 'undercover' or something. Uugh. Kanda doesn't have reasoning skills. What are you talking about? :O Of course rabbits are mute. They're cute and fluffy! 3 But they're also smelly. So maybe Lavi is smelly? xDD Anyway! Thanks for your awesome review! :D

**Kitt6: **Aww, thank you! I'm glad you liked the first chapter so much! I'm a pretty slow updater, so you'll have to deal with that, but you'll see how it turns out. Eventually. Thanks for your awesome review! :D

**Kuyeng13-The Heart Logos: **I know, right? What a silly pervert Lavi is. xDD I'm glad you're falling for my story, though. I love reviews. :D They make me happy to respond to and happy to read and all that exciting stuff. I will continue, just slowly. Because.. I'm a slow person. xDD I mean, I don't type slow, but I hardly ever have time to sit down and write all the stuff I want to. This week's been good, though. I wrote a drabble, I wrote this whole chapter… Y_eah_. I'm awesome. :D Anyway! Thank you for your awesome review! C:

**InsertSmartPenNameHere: **Phew! That's a handful to type. I know, right? Kanda making sex jokes _whuut_? I think we'll start to see more fanfics about Alma once he really develops past the nonsensical, quasi-homicidal maniac that he's been so far. Oh, don't worry. He's got more than just a _sword _up those pants… -snort- I'm not good at soon updates, but here is one. Quite late. But! It's here. That's all I have to say. xDD Thanks for your awesome review! I hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Simply anonymous: **You know what? I just might take that advice. LaviYuu and TyKan sound like good pairings to me. And for some reason, my fingers keep typing Lucky moments, so there might be a smidgen of that too. We'll have to see how things turn out in the end, though. Because I'm not sure how it's going to end. But for now, you'll see those pairings – at least. :D Thanks for your awesome review! :DD

**_Disclaimer_****: I do not own DGM. Or _La muerte y la brújula_, even though it is a _great _story. Go read it. I love reading. Anyway! I don't own Paradise Lost either, as I already said. John Milton, I hope you're happy with this. :D  
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**chapter two: y la brújula**

_LOCATION: ???  
TIME: 1328 HOURS; JUNE 18 2010_

I was given the name Alma when I became a part of the Black Order.

I don't really remember much of when or where I lived before I got here, actually. It's mostly just one big blur of color and sound, and when I try to think about it, I get a massive headache. One of the doctors – or scientists or whatever they really were – told me I probably suffered some massive trauma when I was young and my mind's way of coping was to block it out. I'm sure the memories aren't pleasant, but I'd still like to know.

I spent most of my childhood being trained to be one of them, one of the elite. Somehow I survived. And even through all that constant training, I even managed to make a friend. Yuu Kanda was his name – is his name, actually. He was still alive when I saw him a few years ago. At least, it was a few years ago when I was sent on a long-term mission and I haven't seen much of anyone since then. Last I heard, he was alive. Of course, I never know how reliable my information from Noah is. They're a little unpredictable.

I've only met a few of them – supposedly there are hundreds, thousands even. It's rumored that their armies breed off of the suffering of the people and that they are the carrion birds of war, following wherever people are sad or dying. I never know what to believe because this place that I'm in – that I'm being _held_ in, the place I've been held in for almost six months now – is like a paradise.

The first one that I was introduced to was Lord Tyki Mikk. I didn't know people could still have titles like 'Lord,' unless you were God, but apparently the aristocrats still get together on occasion. His hair used to be long, but he cut it recently, and now it's this curly brown mess that goes all over the place underneath his top hat. He likes t o dress up – suit and tie, formal stuff – but whenever he decides to spend time with me, he always takes the hat off. I think that's supposed to be some kind of respectful sign, but I never understand. I'm a prisoner, so why would he bother?

The second Noah I met was Rhode Kamleot. I'm not really sure how old she is, to be honest. She looks like she could still be in middle school. She has short, dark hair and eyes almost the same color as Tyki's. She _acts _like a little kid, too. I've heard rumors that she likes blood and gore more than any of the other Noah, though. But here, I never know what to believe. We get along sometimes, though. She always seems to be doing 'homework.' And she always seems to need help on it. Of course, when I peaked over her shoulder at it, it was always building plans and mission reports. I remember looking at those too.

Rhode also has a father – his name is Cyril or Sheryl or something. I'm not sure. He's also Tyki's brother, I think. Most of the time, the other Noah just call him a pervert and then punch him. He doesn't seem to like me very much. He's always making comments about how I should stay away from his precious Rhode and that she can't be violated by the likes of me. I don't think he has anything to worry about. I'm not interested in one of my enemies.

Anyway. Today felt like any other day. The Noah gave me my own room – even though I'm a prisoner, something I never really understood – and most of the time, I'm free to come and go as I please. This morning, I left my room and wandered into the kitchen area. There are two kitchens – one that you can cook things for yourself in and one that you can have a personal chef cook things for you. Not too shabby.

While I was munching a sort of late lunch, Tyki ambled into the kitchen and took a bowl from the cabinet. He looked critically at it for a second, ran a finger over it – like checking for dust or something – and only _then _poured a bowl of cereal.

"Afternoon," I greeted. I had made a sandwich and zapped a few pieces of bacon in the microwave. They were still crispy enough to eat and I didn't have to wash any dishes. I had wanted a BLT – but then I had decided the bacon would be better plain. And it was.

"Morning," Tyki grunted, groping blindly for the cereal boxes above the refrigerator. His eyes were only half open, and he looked dead on his feat, even though it was already one in the afternoon.

I was sitting on a bar stool, so I turned slightly and frowned at him. "Is something wrong?"

"Alma, just don't… don't talk to me yet," he said gruffly. "I need some fucking coffee or something…"

He looked so pissed off and tired that I didn't want to break it to him that it was past noon already. "Are you sure you don't want lunch?" I asked timidly, taking a tiny bite of my sandwich.

Tyki had just managed to grab a cereal box when he turned to look at me with a blank stare. "Why would I want lunch? It's the morning, idiot."

I coughed politely. "No, it's not. It's almost two."

The Noah made a strangled noise halfway between a yell and a groan. "God… And I just _woke up_. Hey, have you heard the news?" He lifted his head, suddenly looking much more awake.

"'The news,'" I quoted with my fingers. "Uh, no."

The older man's face split into a haunting grin. He has a habit of smiling like a creepy, out-of-control psychopath sometimes, and I wouldn't recommend the look for any first impressions. "The news," he started dramatically, "is that…" Tyki let out an odd squawk as the cereal box he had been grappling for fell on his head. "Goddammit! Can't a man finish a sentence around here?" he scowled, rubbing the top of his head.

I shook my head wordlessly, taking another bite of my lunch. Tyki busied himself with pouring a cup of coffee and adding various things to it. Some of the Noah have very strange eating habits, so I try not to look when they add strange things to their food or their drinks or whatever. Personal taste is different for everyone, but when you start putting Goldfish crackers in vanilla ice cream and then adding a bit of hot sauce, that is definitely where I draw a line.

After a few minutes of silence, I cleared my throat. "You were going to tell me about 'the news?'" I reminded Tyki pointedly. "You can't just bring up the subject and then try to brush it off like that."

He choked on a sip of the coffee and sputtered for a second. "Oh damn, my bad. Anyway. So, the news – well, actually, I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you. I think we're supposed to bring you to a meeting later."

Taking _me _to a meeting was always a big deal. I am a prisoner here – and I do know that, even though I have a nice room and amazing free food and a lot of entertainment. I think the Noah might consider me out of commission, but I'm just waiting for a good opportunity. If they trust me enough, I can slip out of here and nobody will ever know if I take a few – read: All the top secret files they've ever made – files with me.

"A meeting?" I asked, trying to sound surprised and still a little demure. If I play it safe, cool, and still fit the 'prisoner' role then I can get away with a lot more. "What does that mean?"

Tyki drummed his fingers on the countertop and opened the refrigerator. He looked critically inside for a few long moments before slamming it shut again. "There's nothing to eat here," he muttered, still not answering my question. He wandered towards the attached pantry and flung the door open. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly muffled. "Yeah. Y'know, like those dinners the Earl always makes us go to. You'll just be there too or something. I dunno."

I took another nibbling bite of my sandwich. Suddenly I had lost most of my appetite. I had only been to one meeting before – at the very beginning of my stay. They had basically told me what would happen to me if I tried anything that was ridiculously stupid, what would happen if I tried to escape, and finally, what would happen if I played the part of a good prisoner and sat around in a literal paradise. I didn't know where in the world we were located, though. It was kind of a problem if I ever wanted to escape. If it turned out we were miles from any sort of civilization then I was going to cry or something. Maybe not _cry_, but I was going to be upset. How was I supposed to escape _then_? I wasn't very good at thinking up Plan B's to begin with.

The kitchen door opened quietly, and Rhode slipped into the room in its wake. She smiled, and in one hand she was clutching a large lollipop. Her skirt bounced playfully with every step she took. "Hello!" she greeted, tilting her head to the side with that same, secretive smile. "Tyki, Earl wants to see you."

The brunette emerged from the pantry clutching a box of crackers to his chest. "Wha' for?" he asked thickly around a mouthful of crackers. "I'm tryin' to eat."

The young woman sighed, putting her hands on her hips. It made her lollipop jut out at an odd angle. I stayed quiet, just taking small bites of my sandwich. No matter how slow I ate, it still disappeared eventually. Only a quarter was left. "_Ty_ki," she stressed, "you have to bring Alma too."

I swallowed my bite before I could choke on it. "What for?" I voiced finally, peering down at her from my stool. "What's going on?"

Rhode merely offered me a mysterious smile. "It's just the news. Don't worry so much, Alma!" she said, flouncing out the door. "You better be there soon! You know Earl doesn't like to be kept waiting!"

Tyki sighed heavily. He put his box of crackers down on the counter with a longing expression but straightened up. He adjusted his shirt collar for a second before he looked at me expectantly. "Are you ready?"

Hurriedly I crammed the remainder of the food into my mouth and nodded. The Noah looked at me with an amused smile, and I followed him out the door. As we walked, I tried my best to memorize everything I could lay eyes on. It was what I did every time we went into unfamiliar territory. The Noah's Paradise – I think they called it 'Noah's Ark' or something - was an unlimited building, and I always had trouble finding my way around. There was so much _there_, and even though it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I felt like I hadn't explored much of it. I had been forbidden to explore certain parts, so I had a feeling that there were more dangerous – or more gruesome, or less paradise-like – things there. I knew the Noah were not a good group, but the thought always made my stomach churn.

"So you'll get to hear the news after all," Tyki said without looking at me.

I didn't know how to respond. "Yeah," I agreed carefully. "Cool."

We finally made it to the meeting room. It was set up like the Noah's Ark was just a regular, downtown business complex. The meeting room was just an oval table with comfortable chairs lining it on all sides. There was a projection screen on one wall, and a metal locker contained various laptops and other electronic equipment. I only knew because I had seen them putting things away the first time I had been in the meeting room. The Earl was sitting at the head of the table, and various Noah were also sitting in places around the circle. They were all quiet, and Tyki stopped in the doorway. I paused behind him, peering curiously around his body. A few of the Noah were the kind of people I wouldn't want to run into alone. Of course, I could probably take them on. But if I was going to keep up that 'helpless prisoner' gig, I was going to have to pretend like it really scared me to sit in that room with all of them.

"Tyki-pon? Is that you?" the Earl, the leader of the Noah Organization, spoke with a smile. He was always smiling, and his voice contains infinite amounts of sugar. It's like you can almost hear a heart at the end of every sentence he speaks. "Come sit down!"

"What's _he _doing here?" one of the Noah, a woman with striking eyes muttered under her breath. "I thought prisoners weren't usually brought to meetings."

"Hush, Lulu!" Rhode said, taking her lollipop out of her mouth just long enough to point it at the other woman. "Millennie has to talk!" She replaced the candy in her mouth and smirked around it.

The Earl gazed fondly at the Noah of Dreams and nodded his head sagely. Tyki and I took seats, and the meeting had officially started. The Earl – I don't know if he has any other name or not because nobody ever uses one – cleared his throat. "As you all know," he started, and the sugar in his voice was suddenly missing, "we have been issued a threat."

I wasn't sure what that meant, but apparently it was bad. The circle in the middle of the table rolled back systematically to reveal a sort of hologram-like projected image. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from saying anything.

"Two Exorcists have been dispatched in response to Alma," the Earl continued, and I felt like he was looking straight at me. "It's a little late for a response, but we can't say we weren't expecting it."

"What are we going to do about it?" Tyki asked idly. He had pulled an unlit cigarette from his shirt pocket and stuck it between his teeth. "I mean, it's not like they can get here without us knowing."

The Earl smiled, wider than he had before. "What do we know about these two Exorcists?"

Rhode bounced on her seat, and it was hard to believe that she could possibly have been the oldest one present, aside from the Earl himself. "Yuu Kanda and Lavi!" she chirped before taking a very sinister bite out of her candy. "Kanda has the pretty hair and the sword. He's pretty good at taking out anything I've thrown at him before," she continued with a smirk. "Lavi I haven't seen much of. I heard he's Junior Bookman from part of my network, though."

Another Noah nodded solemnly. "I fought the long-haired one once while I was in Japan," the large man said slowly. "It was on our old Ark."

I didn't remember that battle, or whatever name they had given that event. Of course I didn't remember it; I had been on a mission of my own during that whole period of time where all the Exorcists and Noah had basically converged in an old, historic city in Japan and pretty much laid waste to it. That's where the old Noah base had been, and when the Exorcists had discovered a plot stemming from that specific of a location, they had massed for attack. And for the most part it had worked; both sides were still recovering from the blows, though. It really had been a double-edged sword.

The conversation had moved on without me, so I was reduced to watching my best friend, Yuu Kanda, argue with a holographic image of a redhead with one fiery green eye. I didn't know who he was, exactly, but I had heard of Bookman before. If that redhead was the Junior Bookman, it must have meant that he would take over sometime. But Yuu was the one I focused on.

"…heading here as we speak," Earl said softly. The entire room was silent listening to him speak so seriously. "They do not know exact coordinates, but it is only a matter of time before they find out where our Paradise is."

Murmurs cropped up at the table. One of the Noah straightened, a frown on his thin lips. "I don't think it's a good idea to just let them come like this," he said slowly. I thought his name was Wisely, but I wasn't sure. I didn't really want to be wrong. "Aren't we going to head them off at all?"

The Earl picked up a cup of tea that was conveniently in front of him. He surveyed the Exorcists over the rim with a small smile. "We'll let them come for now." He turned his impossible smile on the Noah seated next to me, and Tyki stiffened. "Tyki-pon. You're up first."

I didn't know what that meant, but obviously it was not good – for Yuu _or _this Junior Bookman guy.

x x x

"Tch," Kanda said simply, crossing his arms over his chest. "This fucking sucks."

"Tell me about it," the redhead answered tiredly. He dipped a spoon into his soup and brought it to his mouth. It was French onion, and all the stringy vegetables managed to fall off the spoon before it reached his mouth. "Dammit. Soup."

The long-haired man poked at the food on his plate. It looked like bread, but it was darker than the bread he normally ate. It was a little strange and foreign. Usually he did well with foreign food, but this bread was just throwing him off his game.

"Are you gonna _eat _it or are you jus' gonna _poke _it?" Lavi asked flatly. He tried again for a spoonful of soup, and Kanda glanced wordlessly at the cell phone on the table. They were waiting for a call – from Headquarters, so they could figure out where the fuck they were going.

"Shut up, I'll eat it when I'm ready," Kanda replied with an equal lack of emotion. He took the bread between two fingers, lifted it to his mouth, and took a bite. It was salty and a little crunchy. It was _bad_, but it certainly wasn't what he had been expecting.

"So," the other man said with a sudden amount of cheerfulness in his voice. "How long do you think we'll have to wait before we know what direction we're supposed to go?"

Kanda grunted. "I don't know."

"Hm… If I was Noah, I would definitely be somewhere in the South," the redhead said thoughtfully. "I mean, too far north would too cold. I'd want somewhere nice and toasty and tropical or something. Maybe somewhere with a siesta?"

"I don't care what you think," the older Exorcist said uninterestedly. "Shut up."

Lavi offered him a considering expression. "But don't you wonder? I mean, I don't think I'd be too keen on the idea of going to like, Siberia or something. We'd freeze."

The look the long-haired man offered was enough to say, 'Your point?' all by itself. The redhead shrugged in response. Kanda pressed the button on the side of his phone impatiently. It was already almost three in the afternoon, and they had been stuck in the same town ever since they had gotten off that stupid fucking train from Bratislava. He wasn't even sure _where _they were, just that they were stranded there until Komui called and told them where they were going. It was his least favorite way to spend an afternoon. Waiting – and waiting _patiently _at that – had never been his strong suit. He was better at charging in and destroying things.

Their server wandered over and said a few things in a language he didn't understand. Lavi replied in the same tongue, motioning first to himself and then to the bitten bread on his plate. The waiter frowned, making a sweeping hand gesture. They both laughed. A bitter sort of anger had started to well up.

"What the fuck are you saying?" Kanda asked crisply as they continued to ignore him.

The other man looked at him with a wide green eye. The other was covered by a mysterious patch, and he still hadn't thought to ask what had happened. He didn't care, really, but it would probably be good to know if his partner was actually half blind or something. "We're just talking, Yuu," he said, blinking innocently. "Is that a crime?"

No, the Exorcist answered tacitly. But it sure was annoying. He stayed quiet as they finished their conversation, even as the redhead turned to look at him with a wide grin. "Do you like the bread, Yuu?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

As a response, Kanda picked it up and took another bite. "It's not horrible," he relented, scowling.

They stayed like that, just eating, for a few long minutes. Kanda was just starting to get bored when the phone _finally _rang. Lavi's eye lit up, and he finally managed to get a spoonful of onions into his mouth. "Answer it! Ow, fuckin' hot! I mean – shit, pick it up!"

Kanda picked up the piece of electronics carefully and slid it against his ear. The small phone thrummed. "Hello?" he answered, waiting for the man on the other side to say something.

"Kanda! What a pleasant surprise!" Komui cheered, and the long-haired Exorcist could almost hear the smile in his voice. "How are you? Enjoying the scenery? I hear it's pretty this time of year."

"If you do not tell me the location of our next stop in two seconds, I will murder you," Kanda threatened quietly. "I will run you through with Mugen and nobody will _ever _find you."

The other side of the line was quiet for a long moment. "Heh, um, well," the Chinese man tittered. "Okay. But! I learned a new word today! It was… uh… brújula. You know what that means?" When the Exorcist didn't reply, he plowed on, "It means compass! And I'm going to tell you what _direction _you're going! Isn't that great?"

Kanda closed his eyes in annoyance. He swore he could feel a vein ticking away in his forehead, but it was probably just his imagination. All those manga he had read when he was younger must have really affected him, at least more than he had realized. "_Tell me _where we are going, Komui."

"Fine," the Supervisor muttered. "You just don't appreciate Borges. Anyway, I'm sending you east. I want you to head as far as you can in Europe, head _east_. Stop when you get to Italy or France or Spain or something, because I'm going to give you further directions about a little… shall we say, _cruise_? You'll be taking a nice boat ride to Noah's Paradise."

"Noah's… Paradise?" he repeated slowly. "That wasn't in the information you gave us."

"No," Komui replied seriously. It was a little uncharacteristic. "It's something we just discovered. We used a piece of code to hack into the Noah's files and discovered, quite by accident, the location of their new base. I'm not sure if it was a trap or not, but right now it's our only lead. You be careful, okay?"

Kanda nodded haltingly. "Yeah. If you get any more information, tell us. We're pretty much fucked here, going into enemy territory like this."

Komui sighed huffily. "I know, I know. I'll let you know – we're working on it right now. If I make any new equipment for you, I'll have it delivered before you get on this cruise. Good luck, and tell Lavi I said hello!"

"Idiot rabbit," he said, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. "The other idiot says hello."

"Anyway," Komui spoke over him, and he couldn't tell if the Supervisor had heard or not. "I have to go. We might be making another breakthrough. I'll call you whenever I have more to tell, okay?"

"Whatever," the long-haired man muttered and hung up without saying goodbye.

Across the table, the redhead looked at him expectantly. "Well?" he prompted. "Where are we going?"

"East," Kanda answered stiffly. "Just head east, he said."

The Junior Bookman shrugged. "Sounds good to me. So, should we pay and get the hell outta here?"

The long-haired man nodded affirmative. As the other signaled the waiter, he caught a glimpse of something – _something _– out of the corner of his eyes. It was just a flash, but for a second he could have sworn he had seen one of the Noah, perched casually on a dinner chair and sipping a glass of wine. The second he looked back, there were only black coattails whipping around the corner, and he wondered vaguely if it had been a figment of his imagination. Lavi had lifted his soup bowl to his lips and was slurping the remaining broth noisily as their server brought the check.

"So, you want to head to the nearest train station?" Lavi grinned. "If we're heading east, we should probably figure out where we want to go next. Because we're in Linz right now, you know. So I'd say our goal would be Lisbon or something."

Lisbon, he knew, was in Portugal, right on the Eastern coast. "Or we could head for Cádiz," the redhead continued. "That's a little further down, but it's in España."

So many foreign towns. It was making his head hurt a little. "Whatever," he grunted. "Just as long as we get there."

They paid for the meal and left the restaurant, but something was still bothering him about that glimpse he had gotten of a Noah. It was too likely that it was just his imagination, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed. Every time he glanced behind them on the way to the train station, he swore he could feel eyes on his back. But when he looked, he was greeted with blank stares of the townsfolk. Linz. He remembered now; that was in Austria. Closer to the Czech Republic than Bratislava had been or something. Glancing behind him one last time, Kanda decided to forget about it. Honestly, his paranoia was a good thing, but only when there really _was _an enemy following.

"Yuu, have you ever been to Spain?" Lavi asked conversationally. His hands were behind his head in a casual pose, and even though his green eye was half closed, he still looked alert.

"Che. I don't know, probably," the older man answered gruffly.

"Komui mentioned _La muerte y la brújula_ to you, didn't he?" the redhead pressed. "He mentioned Borges and a compass, so I assume that's what he was talking about."

The Japanese man gave his partner a cutting look with his dark eyes. "Stop trying to speak Spanish. It's fucking annoying."

Lavi shrugged. "It's just, the other part of the title means 'death.' I don't want Komui to be foreshadowing anything." He paused, noticing the Exorcist's curious expression. "_La muerte y la brújula_, by Jorge Luis Borges. Death and the compass," he explained with a frown.

Kanda frowned too. "Whatever," he said finally. "Let's just go."

"I wonder," Lavi said nonchalantly, "where _la brújula _will point us next?"

* * *

review. c:


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